LAFD BLOG: 75 Years Ago: L.A. Wildfire Kills 29 Firefighters

Friday, October 3, 2008

LAFD BLOG: 75 Years Ago: L.A. Wildfire Kills 29 Firefighters

From: LAFD News & Information: 75 Years Ago: L.A. Wildfire Kills 29 Firefighters

"At first, it looked like a small brush fire. And there seemed to be almost unlimited manpower available to put it out. Both workers and foremen figured it would be batted out quickly."

...and so it was on the afternoon of October 3, 1933, when a fire erupted in the Mineral Wells Canyon area of Griffith Park.
Before it was controlled that night, it would prove to be the deadliest wildfire to firefighters in American history - killing 29 fire control workers and injuring more than 150 others.
It is a chapter of local history forgotten by most, but ready for you to experience via the on-line LAFD Historical Archive at:

Read it here - www.lafire.com

Source: LAFD Blog - Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

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****REMINDER**** Every fire has the ability to be catastrophic. The wildland fire management environment has profoundly changed. Growing numbers of communities, across the nation, are experiencing longer fire seasons; more frequent, bigger, and more severe, fires are a real threat. Be careful with all campfires and equipment.

"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer." --Abraham Lincoln

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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Friday, October 3, 2008